With Addiction Growing, Singapore Looks To Curb Online Betting

Singapore has quickly become the second-largest casino gambling market in the world, and while that is good for business, it is not good news for lawmakers looking to curb problem gambling. Regulators have gone to great lengths to keep Singapore residents from falling into addictive behaviors, but now lawmakers believe more needs to be done.

S Iswaran has made it clear that the focus of the government is keeping addiction out of the country. The latest attempt at doing so has lawmakers calling for stricter regulation when it comes to online gambling.

“Online gambling is a new and potentially more addictive form of gambling, with greater access to the young and vulnerable,” said Iswaran, when addressing the issue this week.

Several years ago, Macau overtook Nevada as the largest gaming destination in the world. Along with that title came potential problems for the Chinese government, who briefly limited visas to Macau from the Chinese mainland. While the limitations were eventually lifted, China has been dealing with an increase in problem gambling.

Over the past year, Singapore has become the hottest new trend for gamblers. Travelers have visited Singapore casinos, but the biggest threat to addiction comes from home. The government was so concerned about locals falling into a problem gambling trap, that they created a levy for Singapore residents to enter casinos. The levy, however, has not deterred gamblers, and now the focus has shifted to the Internet.

Online casinos have become a big moneymaker for governments. Several countries have regulated online gambling, and the US, considered by many analysts to be the largest Internet gaming market, had several states regulate online gambling in the past few months.

Singapore’s government has began the process of studying gambling addiction, and how other regulated countries handle the potential problems.

The opposition to online gambling began with residents who were concerned the land-based casinos would bring an increase in crime, while also becoming a gateway to online gambling.

The government is considering limiting access to online gambling sites until a more secure safeguard can be put in place.